


The Smartest

by FreakHour



Series: Sweet as Hale [10]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Gen, Hale Family - prefire, Hale Family Feels, Hale Family Fic, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 06:32:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/936538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakHour/pseuds/FreakHour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sweet as Hale was begun on tumblr (http://halefamilyfic.tumblr.com) because eeames wanted some Hale Family stuff. I thought. Why not? This all happened. I admit my take on everything is definitely not s3 compliant and... It just never will be. These are pre-fire Hales. I treat it very much like if the Cosbys were Werewolves. They are a fun family how I write them. The Dad is Alec, please imagine him played by Joe Flanigan. (you should totally go to the tumblr an enjoy the imageset header eeames made it is A+++) Everyone else you know except their baby Eric. In the Hale Family only Alec and Eric are human. I hope you enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Smartest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eeames](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eeames/gifts).



> Another one of my favs. I hope you enjoy it!

Derek’s first coherent honest to god memory is from when he was four and his Dad took him to work every single day. Laura was in school, Mom had her job, and Derek’s job according to Alec was to sort extra important files. Derek was still mostly a baby he had no idea these super important files were all the pages that were too blurry to read off the ancient mimeograph machine he used at his office downtown.

Every day, Alec would bring Derek in, spread a blanket on the floor with a pillow and some odd toys and he’d place a wire basket at each end of the blanket. On one side he would pile in the pages his employees had discarded for this purpose and he’d hunker down and look Derek right in the eye. “Ok son. I need you to help me ok? You’re gonna help Daddy just like usual - right?”

Derek would meet his eyes solidly and nod, not at all like Laura who made no eye contact at all unless she was trying to bend you to her will; Derek would focus in on you and sincerely listen. It was so adorable that Alec’s hands twitched to scoop him up and cuddle his son and kiss him. But this is business! He did actually have work to do. Ok, he could focus!

"Ok Big Man, just put the papers from there over in that basket for me ok? And arrange em very nice - ok?"

Derek nodded and whispered, “Kay.”

Alec loved Derek’s small voice and he had to force himself to stand up and go to his desk where he languished for a while until the urge to cuddle finally left him. It took longer today because he kept sneaking peeks over at Derek who was working far more seriously than he was. Derek’s little forehead was scrunched up in extreme concentration as he took out each sheet of paper from the basket and laid them out on the blanket. Alec had no idea why he did it. All he’d told his kid to do was put the papers from one basket into the other, neatly.

Derek was making a huge project out of it and it was fascinating to watch. Whatever his reasoning, Derek had to first remove every single page out of the basket and lay them out so he could see them all. Midway through that part of the journey, Alec would finally get started on what he was supposed to be doing, sitting at his drafting table and reworking plans and making calls to suppliers and artisans about materials. By the time lunch rolled around Derek had half the stack in the other basket, Alec walking over to survey the job.

"Hey Der, it’s about time we eat some lunch. How’s it goin’?" Alec asked, his hands in the back pockets of his jeans.

Derek looked up from where he was very carefully walking around the remaining pages on the floor. “Good Daddy… ‘Most done.”

Alec nodded and scooped up his son for a cuddle. “Hey, why do you spread em all out like that anyway?”

Derek stuck his hand in his mouth, something he does when he is worried about something.

"You’re not doing it wrong, Derek. I’m just curious ok? I just want to hear you tell me."

Derek smiled and leaned his head on his Dad’s shoulder, pointing down at the papers. “Makin’ em nice.”

Alec nodded, bemused, “Nice how?”

Derek scrunched up his face and looked at them with his hand in his mouth.

"I like hearing you tell me things Derek, come on, nice how?" Alec asked again, kissing Derek’s head encouragingly.

"Shapes." Derek says softly. “I’m puttin’ the shapes in first."

Alec mulled that over and looked at the paper in the basket and then at the ones left on the floor and the pattern dawned on him. My God his son was a genius!! Derek had been putting the pages into the other basket in order of the shape the text made on the page. He knealt down and stood Derek beside him, shuffling through what was in the basket. On the bottom was a solid rectangle of unreadable text, the same as the next three, then there were the two text blocks, the ones that were mostly split in the middle then the ones that had a big block on tip and then a big block on bottom. then the three text blocks and so on. Alec looked at Derek amazed.

Derek shrugged his shoulders repeatedly, his hand going up to his mouth. Alec smiled and pulled Derek into a bear hug. “You are so smart!!!” He told his son, standing up and tossing him into the air. “You are the SMARTEST!”

Derek laughed in delight, a sound that always sent joy bubbling through Alec. He caught him and indulged his need to cuddle his son until he laughed and hugged him back as tight as his little arms could - which for a werewolf kid is pretty tight! Lucky for him Derek was always very careful with his Dad.

Alec stroked Derek’s hair back from his face and smiled, “I love you.”

"Thanks." Derek replied solemnly. “You too."

Alec laughed hard at that all the way out of the office to go and ruin Derek’s dinner by stuffing him with a burger, fries, and a milkshake. Why not? His kid was amazing!


End file.
